The Times Sues OpenAI and Microsoft Over A.I.’s Use of Copyrighted Work

Dec 27, 2023 ·

The New York Times is suing Microsoft and OpenAI over alleged misuse of its content. The lawsuit claims that Microsoft and OpenAI used large portions of The Times’ online articles to train an artificial intelligence system without the newspaper’s permission.

According to the lawsuit, the two companies' AI project, GPT-3, was taught to read and understand language by analyzing millions of articles published by The Times. This allegedly gave Microsoft and OpenAI a competitive advantage by gaining access to content from the newspaper before it was made available to the public.

The Times has accused Microsoft and OpenAI of violating copyright laws by using its content without authorization. It also claims that the companies have violated terms of service agreements when they trained GPT-3 with the newspaper’s articles.

Microsoft and OpenAI have denied the allegations and said that their use of The Times’ content was within the scope of fair use. They also argue that they did not use any content unlawfully or unfairly.

The lawsuit is seen as a major test for the developing field of artificial intelligence. The outcome could set a legal precedent for how AI projects should use copyrighted material in the future. If The Times wins the case, it could mean that other companies would be required to obtain permission to use copyrighted material for AI training purposes.

The lawsuit is expected to be closely watched by the tech industry, as the dispute could have far-reaching implications for the development of AI technology and its use of copyrighted material.